Tim Cornwell: Suits of armour, hand-coloured toucans and hours of pleasure from Maastricht

On the advice of a friend, I'm looking at a tomb guardian. It dates from the Chu kingdom, and is made of lacquered wood. It was placed in tombs to keep evil spirits away from souls on the way to paradise, and is doubled-headed - two grumpy faces surmounted by antlers. "They are real antlers, lacquered," says a helpful man on the Priestley & Ferraro stand, specialising in early Chinese art. "It's got a tribal shamanistic power, a sort of anti-demon."